Why?
by phantomhive
Summary: Why was he here? To ruin my life? And why can't I ever forget him?


Author's Note: This is not S + S, nor is it E + T

Author's Note: This is not S + S, nor is it E + T. Close-minded people would have turned already and left. Are you willing to be open-minded? After watching the CCS first movie for my billionth time, a particular scene in the movie captured my attention. For some reason, I felt the urge to take a break from my long series fics to try my first CCS one-shot. And I wanted to be unique. Since I've never seen this done, I wanted to give it a try. Can you guess who the "couple" is? 

** **

**Why?**

By: [][1]Sakura

I hated him. 

Why did he appear in Hong Kong? Why did he choose this place? I was happy. My job made me complete, business was good, and my magic was strong. Everything suited me well. __

_"Why can't you ever leave me alone? You're ruining my life, my perfect existence here!"_

He always hid a smile when I told him that, but I could clearly see the amusement dancing in his eyes. That only served to enrage me further. Who did he think he was, anyway? I didn't care if he thought he was the most powerful magician in the world. He should just stay out my way and leave me alone. 

But he wouldn't go away. 

_I_ went out of my way to avoid him sometimes and _he_ always seemed to go out of his way to cross paths with me. Why? No matter what I did or where I went, he would always be there, smiling calmly as if everything was a big, funny joke. 

He had a twisted personality. 

And then came a time I could take it no longer. I hated to see his laughing face, as if he were mocking me constantly and consistently. Enough was enough. From that time on, I challenged him. I worked hard to improve my magic and I fought him whenever I could. I wanted to beat him. I wanted to take the smile off his face. 

And yet…nothing worked. 

Yes, I was much stronger. My hatred for this man pushed me to fight harder, to improve my magic and strength. Still, I could never beat him. 

Customers preferred the tall, broad-shouldered man. The one wearing swirling robes, his midnight-blue hair tied simply back. _He_ had better magic, therefore _his_ fortune-telling skills would be stronger. 

I became more and more bitter, more anger being directed at him. 

But one day… __

_"I can't accept such a gift from you!" I yelled at him, angrily clutching the wrapped object tightly in my hands. _

_"It's your birthday today, isn't it?" he asked me calmly. "It's my gift to you." I was taken aback, completely speechless. How had he known? I never told him, ever. He turned around and walked away, his long blue hair whirling gently behind him. "If you don't like it," he added over his shoulder, "you can get rid of it." He soon disappeared over the bend._

Sitting by my well, shaded by the tiled roof, my curiosity had gotten the better of me and I decided to open the package. I braced myself for some horrendous object too despicable to be borne. But to my surprise, it was the exact opposite. 

In my sleeved-covered hands held a beautiful golden hair ornament, tastefully decorated with pure-white wings and a small green sphere adorned in the center, two red ribbons attached to the side. It instantly took my breath away. 

Why did he do this? It was too thoughtful. It wasn't like him…or was it? I shook my head, trying to shake away those thoughts. No, he was my enemy, nothing else. I hated him, period. Taking the ornament, I gazed at it, lightly tracing the tip of the wings with my finger. Then, without any hesitation, I dropped it into the well, listening to it hit the water with satisfaction. 

But as I leaned against the pillar, I realized my thoughts could _not_ be shaken away. As much as I tried, his image annoyingly appeared in my mind. Trying to erase the thoughts, I realized I couldn't. I stood up suddenly, whirling around. I could sense a power from behind the low hill. 

Knowing whom the power belonged to, I had quickly gathered my long, full skirt into my hands, determined to catch up with him…and ask him the real reason why. As I reached the bend, there he stood under a tall tree, smiling as he saw me. I had opened my mouth to say my thoughts when he interrupted me. __

_"I know what you're going to say," he called out to me, completely stopping me in my tracks. Again, he turned away and said over his shoulder, "and I'm sorry you didn't like it. But to let you know, I'm glad to have met you. I never wanted us to be enemies, just friends."_

And so he left. For good, this time. As I watched him leave, I had been unable to call upon the strength of my own legs to follow and ask the question in my mind. Besides, my pride was still too great. I had to be better than him, no matter what. I constantly reminded myself that he was ruining me and I'd be better off if he would just disappear forever. Then everything would be perfect again. 

I was wrong. And horribly blind. 

I could tell something was wrong the next day. Why did I have so many customers that particular day? The day _after_ my birthday? Something didn't seem right, but I didn't complain. It was good to have many customers again. Smiling, I decided to go visit him and gloat about my success. And when I reached his home, I found nothing. He was not standing by his favourite tree, his hands locked together behind his back, a smile on his face. He was not there to tease me gently, and entreat me to attack him, while he defended himself as he laughed, thoroughly enjoying my rage and anger toward him. 

He was gone… 

I had run from the empty place that day, not turning back. He was gone forever. I ran blindly, not knowing where I was going. After many hours, I found myself back at my well and sat down beside it numbly. There was an unbearable pain in my chest I couldn't understand. He was finally gone! I should have been rejoicing, not saddened. But I felt so empty, like something was missing. 

Looking up, I had noticed something sitting on the ledge of the well. It couldn't be! I dropped it into the well just the day before! It should have sunk to the bottom by now! But it was really there… 

The hair ornament lay on the ledge, golden as ever, the wings still a shiny white. It was as if water had never touched it, never could. I gathered the little ornament in my hands and held it close to me. This was his doing! This was his fault! Yet, why were tears streaming down my cheeks? Why did holding an insignificant object near my heart give me strength? 

Wiping my tears away, I took the ornament and fitted it into my hair. It fitted perfectly, like it had been made for me. I leaned over and looked at my reflection in the well. Suddenly, an image appeared behind mine. A man with a calm expression smiled at me. I blinked my eyes and gasped in amazement at the picture before me, immediately recognizing who the man was. Turning around, I saw no one behind me. 

The wind blew hard, my long dark hair whipping around me, my newly shed tears being carried away. I was all by myself. There was no one with me at all. He was really gone. 

I realized something, in the end. As twisted as he was, as much as I hated him and wanted him to be out of my life forever, I, Madoushi, came to a startling conclusion and I knew I had to find some way to tell him, no matter how long it took. 

I love Clow Reed. 

Author's Note: Still here? Then I applaud you. *smiles* See, even you can sit through a short one-shot _not_ about S + S (as much as I love the coupling; I mean, look at my other CCS fics) or E + T. Now please tell me what you thought of my attempt at choosing and doing something different. 

*Sakura   
~The Animé Archives Team 

   [1]: mailto:taateam@hotmail.com?subject=Why%20Fan%20Fic



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